24. Twenty-Four

24

TWENTY-FOUR

I was confused, and maybe a little shaken by the fall, but it was Leo causing me angst more than anything else. He looked as if he was about to melt down … and in fantastic fashion no less.

“Baby, look at me,” he pleaded as I tried to get my bearings. “What hurts?”

Technically, everything hurt. Reasonably, I knew that wasn’t true. I wasn’t dying or anything. I was definitely off my game, though. When I tried to talk, a weird sound came out of my mouth. It wasn’t words.

“Somebody call an ambulance right now!” Leo roared.

“The medical team is here,” a familiar voice said. I recognized the face it belonged to, but I had to search for the name. Miles! Things were slowly coming back to me. “Let them look at her.”

“No.” Leo clutched me tighter against his chest. “I want a real doctor. I don’t want your fifteen-dollar-an-hour workers.”

“Technically, I make forty bucks an hour,” a chipper man with a nice smile said as he hunkered down next to me. I didn’t recognize him, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. I hadn’t had a need for the medical staff since arriving in Salem. “Hey, sweetheart.” He beamed a smile at me. “How are you?”

This time when I tried to form words it came easily enough. “I think I’m okay,” I said.

“She’s not,” Leo countered. “She hit her head. She probably has a concussion. She could have internal bleeding for all we know. We need to get her to the hospital for a CAT scan.”

The medic indulgently smiled at Leo. “Let me check her out before we ruin her entire day, huh?”

“I don’t care about ruining her day,” Leo spat. “I don’t want her dying of some undiagnosed brain trauma.”

“Wow.” The medic shook his head. “And they say actors are dramatic.” His smile never faltered. “I’m Walt. I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Okay.” He was doing his job—and I wanted to be sure—but I was feeling much better. Clearly, it had been a momentary lapse.

“What’s your name?”

“Samantha Summers. Everybody calls me Sam, though.”

Walt’s grin never diminished. “What’s your friend’s name?” He gestured toward Leo.

“Leo Powell.”

“Is that his full name?”

“Leonard Duncan Powell,” I replied, not missing a beat. “I thought his name was Leonardo for the longest time—doesn’t he look like a Leonardo?—but it’s Leonard. He doesn’t look like a Leonard.”

“How do you know that?” Leo demanded.

“I googled you.” Multiple times actually. Ever since I’d broken with my determination not to dig into his past, I’d found myself sticking my nose where it didn’t belong. I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “I like the photos they dug up when you were ten. The one from the Easter egg hunt.”

He looked pained. “I hate that photo.”

“You were adorable.” I tapped his chin.

“He’s still adorable,” Walt said. “He seems a little worried, though, so I need you to focus on me. Did you hit your head?”

I didn’t have to think about it. “Yeah, but I saw it coming and kind of managed to brace for it.”

“Where did you hit?”

I gestured toward the side of my head and waited as he tenderly touched the spot.

“Does it hurt?” he asked.

“Just when you push on it.”

“Don’t push on it,” Leo hissed. “I don’t want her in pain.”

If Walt was put off by Leo’s growly nature, he didn’t show it. Perhaps he was simply used to people being jerks in similar situations. “Do you feel any pressure inside of your head?”

“Like … are you asking if I feel like my brain is getting too big and is about to explode through my skull?”

“That’s unlikely but that is what I’m asking.”

“I don’t feel that way.”

“Good.” He held up a finger. “Can you track this without moving your head? Just use your eyes.”

I followed his instructions.

“Good girl.” Walt nodded in approval. “Do you feel sick to your stomach?”

I shook my head.

“Does the light bother you? What about the noise?”

“No. I think I’m okay.”

“I don’t want you to think anything,” Leo countered. “I want you to know. You hit your head hard.”

Walt gave Leo a sympathetic look. “She seems fine. I’m going to ask her to watch for the things I mentioned.” He turned to me. “If you feel sick to your stomach, go to the hospital. If you start seeing double or have concentration or memory problems, go to the hospital. If you’re hazy … or start feeling a headache, what do you do?”

I smirked. “Go to the hospital.”

“There you go.” He stood. “You seem okay, though.”

“Thank you.” I turned to look at Miles to see where things had landed with Bethany and Sylvia, and it was only then that I realized the entire cast had grouped around us, and everybody was seemingly interested in the fact that Leo was holding me as if he never wanted to let go. “Uh-oh,” I whispered.

“Uh-oh what?” Leo demanded. “Do you feel sick? I’ll take you to the hospital right now.”

I pressed my lips together and shook my head.

“Well, well, well,” Sylvia drawled as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Isn’t this an interesting picture?”

Leo finally jerked his eyes away from me and focused on our co-stars. I recognized the exact moment when he realized the proverbial cat was out of the bag. Interestingly enough, he didn’t seem to care. “Do you have a problem?” he demanded of the others.

“No problem,” Bethany said hurriedly. “I’m just glad everybody is okay and we can get right back to filming.”

Leo glared at her. “Do you really think there’re going to be no repercussions for what just happened?”

“Do you really think you should be dating the leading lady?” Bethany fired back. She seemed to be a proponent of going on the offensive rather than relying on defense. “Don’t you think this is something we all should’ve gotten a vote on? I mean … if you two break up, we’ll all suffer.”

Leo’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Did you really just say that to me?”

“Say what?” The only thing Bethany was missing was a halo she looked so angelic. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

“Because you and Sylvia are fighting over a piece of crap, you lost your cool and almost killed Sam.”

“She’s obviously alive,” Bethany countered. She looked nervous despite her bold words. “Let’s not turn this into a bigger thing than is necessary, huh?”

“She could still die!” Leo roared.

I patted his arm to get his attention. “I’m fine. Please don’t tell people I might still die. You’re going to fill me full of anxiety.”

“I’m sorry.” He stroked his hand over my hair and glared at Bethany again. “You have no right to tell anybody what they should and shouldn’t be doing with their private lives. I mean … Ed? Are you actively trying to get Syphilis?”

Bethany had the gall to look offended. “Hey! I’ll have you know that Ed is a tender lover.”

“Really?” Amusement slid over Sylvia’s face. “He’s hot and active with me. He must not be as worked up when he’s with you.” She paused a beat. “I can see that, though.”

Bethany moved to throw herself at Sylvia, but Dexter caught her before she could.

“I think we need a breather, Miles!” Dexter barked. “I also think you need the set psychologist down here to … deal with this.”

“We don’t need a psychologist,” Leo countered.

Dexter gave him a dumbfounded look. “I wasn’t talking about the two of you. You guys are fine. I was talking about these idiots.” He inclined his head toward Bethany and Sylvia. “They clearly need psychological help.”

“Oh.” Leo was momentarily taken aback. “That’s fine. I happen to agree.” He made a grunting noise as he stood. To my surprise, he kept me locked in his arms as he did. “Sam needs water and thirty minutes to rest. I want to make sure she’s not hit with a headache after the fact.”

“Because you’re going to rush her to the hospital if she is?” Sylvia teased.

Leo didn’t smile in return. He merely glared.

“Which I think is great,” Sylvia added automatically.

“Guess what?” Leo challenged. “I don’t care what any of you think. You don’t get a say in anything we do. We’ve been doing our jobs—without hurting others and making a spectacle of ourselves mind you—so we’re not the problem. I don’t want to hear a single word out of any of your mouths about what we’re doing. Do you understand?”

Nobody answered. Leo’s vehemence had clearly thrown them. I didn’t blame them. He was deadly serious.

“Good.” Leo moved to sweep out of the room with me—it would’ve been a lovely visual—but the wires he was attached to for the big stunt stopped him from going more than a few feet. “Will somebody unhook me?” he gritted out.

“I’m on it.” Dexter abandoned Bethany and moved to the back of Leo’s harness. “So much for keeping it quiet, huh, bro?” He was all smiles as he regarded us.

“You knew?” I couldn’t contain my surprise.

“For a little bit,” Dexter replied. “I saw you out together. According to Leo you were in the middle of climbing him like a tree.”

“Oh.” My cheeks flooded with color.

“It’s okay,” Dexter assured me. “I actually knew before then. Leo couldn’t stay away from you. I’d never seen him like that with a co-star before. I had my suspicions. Then I saw you and knew I was right.”

“You were right about what?”

Dexter’s smile turned impish. “That you were going to be the one to turn him into a full-fledged adult.”

“Oh, geez.” Leo shook his head. “Can we not take this to a weird place?”

“Sorry.” Dexter didn’t look sorry. “You’re unhooked. Go forth and … fawn all over her.”

“You laugh, but that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” Leo stormed into the break room and sat on one of the couches. He still had me firmly pressed to his chest, but the gusty breath he let loose when it was just the two of us told me he was finally going to allow himself to unclench.

“Are you okay?” I asked when he’d situated me so I was across his lap.

“I should be asking you that question.”

“I’m asking you.”

He stared into my eyes, and I realized there was a lot more going on behind the scenes than just the fall. “I saw … when you hit … I saw my mother for a second.” His voice was so low I could barely hear him, and I thought my heart might break at the anguished look on his face. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t want them to know. I didn’t think.”

“Don’t.” I took his hand and linked his fingers with mine, allowing myself to close my eyes as he reclined against the couch. “It’s fine. So, they know. I think we’re going to get off easy thanks to Bethany and Sylvia fighting over Ed.”

“Do you think that will make it to the tabloids?”

It was something I hadn’t considered. “I kind of hope it does. It will have people gossiping, and gossip is good for a show.”

“Yeah.” He readjusted me and let out the breath he was holding.

“You didn’t tell me Dexter knew,” I prodded.

“That just came out. I didn’t think it mattered. He won’t say anything.”

“I like him.”

“He’s a good guy.” Leo moved his hands over my back. “You’re going to be feeling other things hurting later. You would’ve braced for the fall and your muscles will be protesting in a few hours.”

“Maybe I can talk you into giving me a massage.”

He kissed my forehead. “I could do that.”

“One of those witch shops on Essex Street has massage oils. I saw them the other day.”

“Were you thinking about rubbing something when you saw them?” he teased.

I decided to play it coy. “Maybe.”

“I’ll pick up a few things when I’m done for the day. I finish one scene before you.” He kept moving his hands, as if he couldn’t stop himself. “Although, I’m not keen on leaving you here to keep filming without me. Maybe we should have Miles end the day early and pick up the other scene tomorrow.”

I immediately started shaking my head. “No. I’m not delicate.”

He pulled back far enough to stare down at my face. “Why is that a bad thing?”

“Because if I get a reputation for being delicate, then even fewer people will want to hire me. It’s like you being difficult. Actually, it’s worse. It makes me look weak, and nobody wants a weak actress on the payroll. Men being difficult is expected sometimes.”

“I guess I never thought about it.” He shifted so he was slouching and could look me in the eye. “Are you sure you’re okay?” He looked so vulnerable when he asked it, I wanted to reverse our positions and coddle him for a bit. That would’ve led to a huge fight, though.

“I’m okay. I’m still going to want that massage, though.”

“Done.” He gave me a soft kiss. “You know I’m going to be watching you like a hawk all night, right?”

“I would expect nothing less.”

He leaned in again, seemingly happy that I wasn’t going to give him a hard time about his mother hen ways, but our moment was interrupted when Bethany appeared in the room. His smile disappeared in an instant. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Well, I guess it’s good that I’m not here to talk to you,” Bethany fired back. “I’m here to talk to Sam.”

I tried to sit up so I could discuss whatever was on her mind like an adult, but Leo’s firm grip told me that wasn’t going to happen. Instead, I focused my full attention on her. “What is it?”

“I want to apologize,” she started, her hands gripped together in front of her. “It’s not okay what happened. I never meant to hurt you. I just … Sylvia knows exactly how to get under my skin.”

“I’m pretty sure you already knew that,” I pointed out.

“She just made me so mad.” Bethany’s eyes were stormy. “Like Ed would ever choose her over me.”

I had questions about that entire situation. I wasn’t certain if I wanted to hear the answers, though.

Apparently, Leo didn’t have that problem because he went right for Bethany’s jugular. “Why would you lower yourself to fighting over that guy when you know what he is?”

“Because Sylvia thinks she beat me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Shouldn’t a relationship be about more than winning?”

“Oh, it’s easy for you to say that when you’re snuggled in Leo’s lap like a bug in a rug,” Bethany argued. “I know Ed and I are never going to have that type of relationship.”

“But?” I prodded.

“But…” She dragged out the single word. “But … he’s a nice guy. He’s oddly good in bed.”

“Oh, it’s not about Ed,” Leo challenged. “It’s about beating Sylvia. She’s the queen, and you want to be the queen.”

“She’s not the queen,” Bethany argued automatically.

“She is, though,” I supplied. “She’s the one who has been around the longest. She’s the one who has truly earned this. Why can’t you just let her be the queen?”

“Because I’m too old to be the princess, and if I’m not the queen, then what does that leave me?”

The response might’ve sounded off the wall to someone else, but I understood it a little too well. “I get it,” I said. “You’re an adult, though. Isn’t it better to not get a crown than to be the punching bag in all the tabloid rags?”

Bethany shot me an incredulous look. “Are you kidding me? At least this way I’ll be talked about. Otherwise, I won’t even be mentioned. Being laughed at is bad. Being forgotten is the worst.”

I didn’t know what to say to make her feel better.

“You’re not there yet, but you’ll get there,” Bethany said. “The worst thing in the world is not to be considered at all. So, yeah, it bothers me that Sylvia is the queen. It’s going to bother me when the story gets out about what’s going on between you and Leo … and you’re definitely going to get the short end of the stick there.”

Behind me, Leo stiffened. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Oh, come on.” Bethany rolled her eyes. “Misogyny is alive and well. You’ll be painted as this amazing guy even when you dump her and move on. She’ll be painted as a lonely spinster who had one shot at happiness before losing it.”

“Who says I’m going to dump her and move on?”

I froze at the words. It took everything I had to regulate my breathing. I knew that he’d said what he’d said in the moment and he didn’t mean it. It was what I wanted to hear, though. It was what I needed to hear. I wanted to be the reason he stuck with the show … or at least came back to visit.

Sure, deep down, I knew that wasn’t reality. Still, he’d said it. Did that mean he was thinking about it, too?

“Whatever.” Bethany waved off Leo’s outrage. “I really am sorry for hurting you, Sam. It won’t happen again. You have my word.”

“It’s okay,” I automatically replied.

“No, it’s not,” Leo said. “I’m going to be watching you. If you hurt her again, I’m going to get you removed from the cast.”

It was a bold threat, and one I wasn’t expecting. “Leo,” I chastised.

“No.” He was vehement when shaking his head. “It’s time to grow up, Bethany. You can’t fall apart because you’re not the princess or queen … whatever that’s supposed to mean. What you are is an adult. Act like it.”

“I said I was sorry.” Annoyance flashed in Bethany’s eyes. “Geez. What is with you?”

That’s what I wanted to know. What was up with Leo? I just waved her off. “It’s fine. Tell Miles I’m on my way back in. I want to get to this scene.”

“Okay.” Bethany looked uncertain. “As long as you’re feeling up to it, that’s all that matters.”

“I’m good.” Other than being confused by what Leo had said—something I didn’t dare question him about because I didn’t want my bubble burst—I was just peachy. “Give me five minutes. Then we’ll get back at it.”

“I’ll tell them.” Bethany smiled, but it didn’t touch her eyes. “You guys are cute. This news will do wonders for the show.”

For once, the show was the furthest thing from my mind. Just what was I going to do about these feelings for Leo? They clearly weren’t going anywhere. I was on a collision course for pain.

Unless, maybe, I wasn’t. Could I hope for that? It felt wrong, and yet I couldn’t keep the smidgen of light I’d let in be fully smothered.

Maybe we did have a future after all.